Creation

He wanted to know everything but he could feel old age stealing away his sanity. He grew desperate. So he explored the darkness and finally met Death.

He
wanted to know about the world. When the last book had been read, the last
television program watched and the last drops of human knowledge consumed, he
realized that it wasn’t enough. Hr still did not know everything, like if the
universe held other sentient life forms or how long the current world order
would last. And as his years grew longer and longer and the end seemed more and
more imminent, he felt the finer points of his sanity slipping away into old
age. The man grew desperate. So he explored the darkness and finally met Death.

“Please,
give me some more time” he begged.

“No
one is allotted more time,” Death told him. But the man wouldn’t take no for an
answer. He fell to Death’s feet, gripped the hem of Death’s black robe and
sobbed into the thick, prickly fabric.

“I
have no wishes of riches or love holding me back. I crave knowledge, above all
else.”

Death
was amused, for it was not often that a human so explicitly renounced material
goods or human companionship. Death decided to humor the man for a while.

“Suppose
I grant you an extension"what would you do with it? Would you continue to read
the books? Humans argue constantly about most things and so, books are often
written, then re-written, then completely disproved. Answers to certain
questions are beyond human understanding.”

The
man dried his tears and looked up at the shadow of Death’s face, desperation in
his eyes.

“And
will you devour the scientific literature of your kind?” Death continued, “For
it is apparent that the pursuit of science moves painfully slow when humans are
not motivated by political or social events. Not everyone is as curious as you.
You will not find what you are looking for, even if I allow you to remain on
Earth for eternity.”

The
man’s eyes widened and he stood up shakily.

“Not
true,” the man gasped, “some of the answers I seek will be revealed in time. Of
that I am absolutely certain.”

“You
wish to know how the world will end,” Death said.

“That
is one of my questions, yes.”

“One
could argue that the world ends when a man dies.”

“No!
Not my world"the actual world. The
Earth.”

“The
Earth will never end,” Death told him, “it will only change form.”

“How
can that be? There must come a time when the Earth will vanish into a black
hole"or be caught in the Sun’s explosion and burn into a million tiny
fragments…or something.”

Death
was becoming impatient. It had no wish to engage in a discussion on the
metaphysics of existence with a silly human. For a wild moment, Death
considered taking him right then and there and be done with him forever. But
that would have been cruel. Death was not accustomed to being cruel. And so, to
get the irritating man to leave him alone, Death did the next best thing: it
gave him what he wanted.

“I
grant you eternal life,” Death said begrudgingly, cringing at the expression of
pure joy on the man’s face, “and I have also given you the power to observe
everything in the universe. You can see into the far reaches of space. You can
also see particles at the subatomic level moving at the speed of light. You
shall know everything.”

And
before Death disappeared into the black, not wanting to bear witness to the
sickening expression of pure joy on the man’s face, the awe in his eyes. He
raised his arms to the sky and cried out to the universe.

“So
this is what it’s like to be God!”

And
for many years, the man wandered the world, reading all the new books, watching
all the new television programs, and observing the Earth change before his
eyes. But people grew curious about the old man and rumors began to spread of
witchcraft and black magic. The man knew he had lived too long. And without a
second thought, he picked up his belongings and crept away from the familiar
through the darkness of the night. His friends and family were left behind but
for this, he felt no regret. Human companionship is irrelevant, he realized, in
the ultimate pursuit for truth. Before he knew it, he had lived a millennia and
the face of human culture had completely changed. But not for the better.

The
old problems of war, famine and poverty lingered. Men continued to fight over
property and ideas. Religion, even the newer and more progressive religions,
still diverted attention to what the man to be nonexistent entities. Death had
been right: the advancement of science was slow and mankind still had not
discovered how to live on the moon or made contact with extraterrestrials or
built sentient machines. The man grew frustrated and tried to help. He became a
doctor and won a Nobel Prize for his research in genetics. But the attention
never died down and when people began to notice his unnatural long life, he
knew he could not just pick up and leave. So he faked his own death and knew
that if he were to make a difference, it would have to be small enough to not attract
too much attention. With this lifestyle, the man grew frustrated and when his
frustration became too much to bear, he once sought Death.

“Why
have you come back?” Death asked him, annoyed.

“These
people, they are foolish! It has been
two thousand years and they have achieved nothing!”

“So?”

“You
said I would know everything. But how can I when mankind doesn’t discover it?”

“I
have given you all the time in the universe. Why can you not discover it
yourself?”

“I’ve
tried! But they wouldn’t leave me
alone! I live forever but they cannot know that.”

“And
why not?” Death asked, bored by the conversation. Death cared little for this
man’s problems. In fact, it was almost slightly angered that he found something
to complain about when he had gotten all he had wanted.

“Because"because
I would be experimented on! It would throw everything these men thought they
knew into doubt. Religion…faith…all
would be challenged!”

“So
what?”

The
man blinked, not understanding.

“It
would forever change human history. Men have always wondered about such things.
To give them the answer"it’ll break down everything.
Religion, morals, hope! Men…men are not meant
to know what the secrets of life.”

“But
you’re a man.”

The
man stared for a while. At with a small shake of his head, he disappeared back
into the world. Where he went, Death did not immediately know nor did Death
care, for Death was sure he would be back.

For
years, the man lived in isolation, hidden deep within the woods near the
Arctic, and mulled over Death’s words. On more than one occasion, the man found
the painful pangs of depression unbearable and tried to end it all. But Death
was not dishonest and the man found his attempts to be futile. He would clench
his fists and stare at the blank well, feel his eyes welling up with tears and
scream out into the silence. He was going through an existential crisis and all
the knowledge in the world could not tell him the nature of his existence. Was
he a man? Or was he something more?

But
every storm eventually passes and the man knew that nothing man-made could be
permanent. Buildings crumble, ideas become forgotten and the bones get buried.
And like all man-made things, the man’s confusion also began to recede as he
realized what had to be done.

One
cold winter morning, he appeared in front of Death for the last time.

“I
no longer want to be a man,” he declared.

Death
did not understand at first.

“What
can you be if not a man?”

“Many
things. I do not want to be alive. But I do not want to die either.”

“So
what is it exactly that you want?”

“I
want to know everything, everything,
without having to wait for the human race to discover it. I want to know the
past, present and future all at once. I want to remain sentient forever so that
I can watch mankind without having to be a part of it.”

“You
will remain sentient forever. And you
can choose to not be a part of it.”

The
man shook his head.

“No
because no matter what I do, I am still a slave to this body. I require food
and water, shelter, human company"all essential for the survival of a man. All items that can only be acquired
through active participation in society. The world is much smaller now than it
was two thousand years ago. There is nowhere to hide.”

“Surely
you must have thought of this when you first came to me? You must have realized
that to live forever means exactly that"live
forever? You would still have to eat and sleep.”

The
man hesitated for a second before speaking.

“Man
feels emotion. I do not want to feel. I only want to think.”

Death
nodded slowly, finally understanding.

“You
want to be God,” Death said.

The
man said nothing, only stared intently at Death’s black robe as gray clouds
gathered in the sky above.

“There
is no God,” he said quietly.

For
the first time in all of history, Death lowered its black robe, revealing its
horrid, deformed face. The man recoiled in fear as he saw the shadows danced in
its eyes.

“There
was no God,” Death said, smiling
toothily, “But I think it’s time Death has an assistant, don’t you? The
population has grown so large. It’s difficult to keep track.”

Death
turned to the man, still smiling, as the man’s form began to lose shape and
cohesion. He opened his mouth to scream but his voice was already gone. The
only indication of his fear was in his now-red eyes.

“So,
God, it will be your duty to frighten
the children…to bring me souls. You are up for it, aren’t you?”

And
God looked at Death, His head swimming with truth, His face full of
indifference and His heart devoid of any emotion. With no expression on His
face, God bowed to Death and vanished as the first raindrops began to fall.

My Review

Reviews

Very interesting concept, that man + death ==> god. In essence, that was probably the formula behind every major religion. Man always requires an explanation for the inevitable, and often uses that explanation as population control.

Posted 7 Years Ago

This is an amazing concept Preeti. I love hermetic writings like this- it reads like a fable, but explores every aspect of human existence in such a leading way that the reader can't help following along the lines. The life of the man is told simply and concisely so that the chronology of his life drags the reader along the social, cultural and technological changes, (or lack of), at a comfortable pace. The moral anecdotes and prophetic warnings that occur throughout the tale fit in quite nicely without ever coming across as 'preachy'- simply observations made by a despairingly misanthropic immortal! I think this may even be worth extending to a larger and more detailed work, because there is enough thought in this to flesh it out to at least a novella sized offering.
I really enjoyed this challenging read, great work, spence

Stats

Author

San Diego, CA

About

College undergraduate with an inconvenient tendency to drift into imaginary worlds. Half of what I think isn't original (as there is so little these days which truly is 100% original) and the other ha.. more..